Thai Authorities Nab 10 Suspects, Seize Firearms In Restive South

By Tuwaedaniya Meringing PATTANI, June 22 (Bernama) -- Thai authorities seized 11 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition believed to belong to criminals and those involved in violent cases in Thailand’insurgency-plagued south. Pattani Army Task Force chief, Maj Gen Chatuporn Kalampasut said 10 suspects were detained in connection with the seizures during operations in Saiburi, Yaring and Maiken in the Pattani province. The firearms seized comprised two AK-47, two M-16, two shotguns and five pistols, apart from the ammunition," he said at a joint press conference with Pattani police chief, Maj Gen Piyawat Chalermsi at Camp Ingkhayuthaborihan here Wednesday. Chatuporn said the operations were carried out following several incidents of crime and violence in which civilians and security personnel were killed, which included six soldiers who died in a bomb attack in Pattani’s Thung Yang Daeng district, two days ago. Four other soldiers were wounded in the bomb attack. Meanwhile, the authorities have issued two arrest warrants against suspected individuals involved in the incident. -- BERNAMA